All the candidates for U.S. Congress in the district that covers Martin, St. Lucie and parts of Palm Beach counties will square off in a debate on WPTV Friday, August 3 at 7 p.m.
The one-hour debate will be divided into segments featuring the Democratic and Republican candidates in the race to represent District 18 in Washington.
U.S. Rep. Brian Mast is the incumbent and he will be in the first debate with challengers Dave Cummings and Mark Freeman.
When the Republicans finish, the Democratic candidates will take the stage. Lauren Baer and Pam Keith will then take their turn debating the issues facing voters in the region.
This debate will be a special edition of WPTV’s political show, To The Point.
Michael Williams, the host of To The Point and WPTV anchor, will be moderating the debate and asking the candidates questions.
This is the only televised debate involving the candidates in Congressional District 18, and is part of WPTV’s extensive political coverage in 2018.
On the following week, WPTV will be presenting a one-hour debate and one-hour forum of the candidates for governor.
On August 8 at 8 p.m. the Republican candidates for governor, Ron DeSantis and Adam Putnam, will debate the issues.
On August 9 at 8 p.m. the Democratic candidates for governor will be explain their views in a forum. The candidates in the forum are: Andrew Gillum, Gwen Graham, Jeff Greene, Chris King and Philip Levine.
In addition to airing on TV, the debates will also stream live on wptv.com, the free WPTV app and on our Facebook page.
These prime time debates will impact network programming. Set your DVR accordingly to make sure you don't miss your favorite shows. The lineups are as follows:
Wednesday, Aug. 8:
8 p.m.: Republican Gubernatorial Candidates Debate
9 p.m.: World of Dance (2 hours)
3-4 a.m.: Reverie (on delayed broadcast)
Thursday, Aug. 9:
8 p.m.: Democratic Gubernatorial Forum
9 p.m.: Trial & Error
9:30 p.m.: Trial & Error
10 p.m.: America's Got Talent
3-4 a.m.: Law & Order Special Victims Unit (on delayed broadcast).
